Sunday, December 4, 2016

Fudgy chocolate beet cupcakes (Vegan)

These beautiful chocolate cupcakes contain a secret - they are made with beets and are completely vegan! Believe this non-beet fan that you'll fool others with these intensely chocolate treats!

Before you run for the hills, hear me out. I am NOT a beet person. We subscribe to a biweekly CSA, and my profile explicitly lists "no beets." Imagine the horror when I opened up our CSA box only to find 3 ginormous beets. These vegetables were huge - way bigger than my fists and easily could be used to play a game of softball.

What was I supposed to do with these things? Return them? Give them to a neighbor? Chuck 'em in the trash? (I was briefly contemplating the last option there but didn't want to waste food) I very reluctantly decided to work with them, despite my negative attitude towards beets.

I roasted my beets for over an hour to soften them, and when I tried to puree them in my blender, that red juice got everywhere. My hands looked bloody and the kitchen was starting to resemble a Halloween horror movie.

These fudgy chocolate beet cupcakes seemed promising since they contained cocoa powder and would hide the bright color from the beet puree. Plus they required no frosting - just a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed these cupcakes. They didn't taste like beets (whew) but were chocolate-y instead. I'd recommend upping the sugar in these since they weren't quite as sweet as regular chocolate cupcakes (I did not make those changes below).

DirectionsRoast the beets: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Remove and discard the stem and root from your beets. Thoroughly scrub and wash them. Dry with a towel and rub on some canola oil. Then wrap tightly in foil. Roast them in your preheated oven for about 1 hour or until tender. Allow to come to room temperature.

Once
cooled, puree the beets in a blender. Measure out 1/2 cup and set aside.

Bake the cupcakes: Keep the oven at 375°F and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the milk and vinegar and allow it to curdle. Then add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and 1/2
cup beets and mix well until everything is fully incorporated.

Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to and gently fold together. Then mix well until there are no lumps.

Bake 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool before serving. If desired, dust with additional cocoa powder on top to finish. Cupcakes should be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator and will keep for several days.

Followers

All photographs, content and original recipes belong to Eva Bakes unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. If you repost any material from this blog, please give credit by including a link back to me. If you would like to repost one of my photographs, please obtain written permission first. Thank you!